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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.54 $12.57
Deep ruby red with violet reflections; intense fruity bouquet with notes of plum and cherry, hints of Mediterranean...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $18.93 $20.40
12 bottles: $18.55
100% Cortese from Ulivi's estate vines in and around Gavi. As always, the fruit was destemmed and spontaneously...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.48 $13.87
Broad, ripe black fruit and spice aromas, with notes of pepper, toasty vanilla and Mediterranean scrub. On the...
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.41
12 bottles: $12.16
COLOR: Pale yellow with green reflections. NOSE: Fresh nose with grapefruit notes and underlying minerality. FLAVOR:...
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Rapid Ship
White
500ml
Bottle: $40.95 $46.80
This has the botrytis spice I like with almond paste and clove undertones as well as dried peaches and apricots....
WE
92
JS
92
White
500ml
Bottle: $48.30
6 bottles: $47.33
Colour: Lively pale lemon yellow. Nose: Very young floral with hints of Seville orange. Palate: Silky and fluid,...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $150.00
A prestigious micro-cuvée entirely dedicated to the legendary Semillon grape variety and made from the estate’s...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.94
12 bottles: $8.94
Notes of ripe plums, cherry jam and tobacco characterize the bouquet of this pure varietal Primitivo from the Apulia...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.62 $15.13
The 2022 Nero d'Avola mixes sweet herbal tones with crushed black cherries and wet stone to form an inviting bouquet....
VM
89
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.65
12 bottles: $15.34
Light and clear with a heavenly bouquet reminiscent of almond trees in blossom. Dry and harmonious with a final...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.94 $18.40
The Cortese grape always makes for etched and sharp white wines with a strong salty mineral component. That's exactly...
WA
88
WS
88
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.94 $22.80
12 bottles: $21.66
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.00
12 bottles: $17.64
Nero d’Avola, guyot, planted in 2011, harvested in late September at 42 hl/ha. Destemmed and crushed, with...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.63 $18.48
12 bottles: $13.59
Umami notes of soy sauce and black olives, a bit of mossy underbrush and berries swirl together on the nose of the...
WE
89
WA
88
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $14.73
A fine and persistent wine, with a strong scent of ripe red fruit.
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $19.20
COLOR: Intense red with violet reflections. PERFUME: Red fruit, ripe blackberries and cocoa scent. TASTE: Tannic...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $79.93
6 bottles: $78.33
The 2019 Sicilia Mille e Una Notte is a blend of Nero d'Avola, Petit Verdot, Syrah and other complementary grapes....
12 FREE
WA
94
VM
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.94
12 bottles: $17.58
Cherries and watermelon with some citrus aromas follow through to a medium to full body with creamy-textured tannins...
JS
92
WE
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $20.94
12 bottles: $20.52
Very typical with lots of sour cherry and crisp lemon zest in both the nose and palate. Medium body with bright...
JS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.40
12 bottles: $13.13
COLOR: Bright magenta red in color. NOSE: Very fruit forward with notes of red berries (cherry, blackberry),...

Cortese Nero D'avola Primitivo Semillon

The Cortese white wine grape varietal has been grown in and around south Piedmont, Italy, for at least five hundred years. Its delicate nature and moderate acidity have made it a favorite with people around the world, and it is most commonly served alongside the excellent seafood and shellfish dishes of the part of Italy it is traditionally grown in. Cortese grapes are easily identifiable by their lime and greengage flavors, and their generally delicate and medium bodied character. Cortese wines are also notable for their freshness and crispness, again, making them an ideal match for seafood. Whilst colder years often produce harsher, more acidic Cortese wines, practices such as allowing malolactic fermentation can solve any such problems and still produce delicious white wines made from this varietal.

Italy’s largest island, Sicily, has a wine producing history that can put most other European regions to shame. It was producing quality wines before the days of the Roman empire, and even the Ancient Greeks were not the first to cultivate vines on the island. For as long as anyone knows, the key grape varietal of Sicily has been Nero d’Avola, the beautiful, deep blue skinned grape which produces the region’s characterful, powerful red wines. While in the past, Nero d’Avola was mainly used as a blending grape, due to its deep color and intensely full body, it is today being increasingly celebrated as a single varietal wine grape, and is perfect for those who like their wines boisterous, loud and strong.



Nero d’Avola is grown pretty much everywhere on Sicily, as demand for wines made from this grape have never been higher. Despite its power and body, it is quite a versatile grape - it can be aged in oak barrels, which produces a dense and dark wine which puts its intense characteristics to good use, but it is also often drunk quite young, which allows its jammy, plummy character to come forward. It is also used to make rose wines in some appellations of Sicily, demonstrating a softer side to this otherwise heavy, deeply flavorful grape.

As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.


Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.

Semillon was, at one point not so long ago, widely believed to be one of the most grown grape varietals in the world. Whilst today the numbers of Semillon grapes has dropped considerably, it remains a widely planted grape with vineyards all over Europe and the New World dedicated to making the most of this special and flavorful varietal. The grapes are recognizable by their golden color, and the fact that they can take on a pinkish hue in particularly warm climates. The wines the Semillon grape produces are notably varied, and are often very crisp and dry, or sweet and soft, full of a wide range of flavors Commonly, dry Semillon wines are particularly citrus in flavor, with a delicate and summery bouquet. The vine is hardy and vigorous, and notable for being easy to grow and produce high yields from.